After nearly two decades of service, the Longwood Fire Company chief knows a few things about the dangers of burning the candle at both ends.
Chief A.J. McCarthy said the challenge of juggling a full-time job as a West Chester police officer with the responsibilities of being a volunteer fire chief and the father of two young children signaled a need for a change – one that was announced this week.
McCarthy said after several years of discussion and research, the Longwood Fire Company Board of Directors and membership unanimously approved his transition to a paid full-time chief sometime before the end of 2016. McCarthy started with the company in 1997 as a junior firefighter.
“I really have to thank the membership of the fire company for such a strong vote of confidence,” McCarthy said in a press release. “My father taught me that as a supervisor, your people always have to come first, and I like to think that I always have their best interest and safety at the forefront. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish as a team.”
McCarthy also expressed gratitude to his family, especially his wife, Marianne. “Without them, the last six years of my term as fire chief wouldn't have happened,” McCarthy said in the release. “Marianne has always supported my firehouse participation, even when it meant canceling plans or leaving family events.
“To switch from a very secure civil service job to a career fire chief is risky, and she never once questioned it,” McCarthy added. “For that, I will always be grateful.”
Brad Bowman, president of the fire company’s board, said the complexity of Longwood’s operations – a mix of career and volunteer personnel providing basic and advanced fire, rescue and EMS skills to Kennett, East Marlborough, Pennsbury and Pocopson townships – prompted the decision. He said even though the chief’s position is voluntary, it carries the requirements of a full-time job with 24/7 needs.
“The change to the full-time chief allows the organization to continue on our upward path, protecting the community without the change of direction that normally occurs when a volunteer position terms out,” Bowman said in the release. “We feel that this will allow us to provide continued and consistent guidance into the future as we have a lot of projects that we wish to accomplish.”
McCarthy said the genesis of the change stemmed from a 2011 study that the Longwood Fire Company commissioned to evaluate its services and efficiency as well as the realization that he couldn’t sustain the pace required by his dueling responsibilities. Bowman said in the past few years outside industry experts had recommended a full-time chief.
“People don’t understand how much work is involved in running a fire company,” McCarthy said. “You’re running a business as well as a public safety operation. It’s two businesses under one roof.”
He said another study, commissioned last year by officials in Kennett Square Borough and Kennett, Pocopson, Pennsbury, East Marlborough Township and Newlin townships – the areas served by Longwood, Kennett and Po-Mar-Lin Fire companies – occurred parallel to Longwood’s analysis of moving to a paid full-time chief.
Area officials said the collaborative study was prompted by statewide data that identified trends and reasons to consolidate, evaluate, and strategically plan for fire and emergency medical services, including a decrease in volunteers, rising costs, duplication of equipment and increased demands for services. Officials said they hoped a strategic multi-municipal approach to providing these services in a single business model would be more efficient.
McCarthy said the draft of the multi-municipal study, which has not yet been made public, is still being reviewed by all of the companies and municipalities. He said decisions about what to do about replacing the company’s inadequate firehouse would hinge on what comes out of that study.
He said the company has outgrown the building, due not only to population growth but also to an increase of traffic to Longwood Gardens, which now exceeds a million visitors a year, and on Route 1, which carries 100,000 cars a day. One possibility might be to establish a satellite station for some EMS vehicles, enabling them to access certain areas faster, he said.
Other than addressing building issues, McCarthy said he doesn’t anticipate making any substantive, operational changes. “I like to think that this new venture was so well-accepted because the membership didn't want anything to change,” he said. “Our group is really the best around, I couldn't ask for more dedicated people than we already have.”
McCarthy said Longwood has 32 other paid positions: 30 EMS workers, one career firefighter, and an office manager. He said the board made a decision not to disclose his salary, but he likened it to the low range for a police chief. “It's not excessive. This isn’t about the money,” he said. “There’s better earning potential in police work because of the overtime.”
His primary motivation was to continue working with a great group of employees and volunteers, McCarthy said.
“We continuously evaluate our operation to see where we can improve. We have a few new administrative efficiencies we want to implement, such as a new cloud-based operating system to tie all of the firehouse operations into one process,” McCarthy said. “Our office manager Lori Kaluzny is great; she really runs things and is top notch at her job. I plan on working with her to see if there are any things we can do to make her job easier.”
McCarthy said he enjoyed his time as a police officer but has always felt a stronger connection to the fire company. He said he has not yet left his police job, but would do so within the next two months.
“I've been in law enforcement for almost 15 years. I've had a great career, but I have always enjoyed the fire service much more,” he said. “Since I've been fire chief, we have been able to make great strides to be the best around. We have a great group of employees and volunteers, and I want to make sure that we’re around for another 95 years.”
Longwood Fire Company has served the communities of Kennett, East Marlborough, Pennsbury and Pocopson townships since 1921. It provides fire and rescue and emergency medical services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. For more information, visit www.longwoodfireco.com.
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